A startling revelation was made in the ‘Right To Information’ reply which brought to light that 5338 girls’ missing cases were registered in Kerala in a matter of five years – January 2029 to December 31, 2023. The reply is dated April 12, 2024, and is from the State Public Information Officer, State Crime Records Bureau, Thiruvananthapuram. It was in connection with an inquiry from Girish Bharadwaj, 11 – Asthithwa, Railway Parallel Road, Sheshadripura, Bengalooru.
5338 is a shocking and disturbing figure. Non-BJP politicians and their parties are reluctant to discuss matters like this. All want to downplay it. Because they are afraid, the discussion will end up in “Love Jihad” to a certain extent. They are afraid, the issue will draw people’s attention to the issue of several girls who were trapped in Love Jihad and taken to Afghanistan and Syria for recruitment to ISIS. They are afraid, it will vindicate the anxieties the RSS, BJP, and other Hindu and nationalist forces have been raising for the last several years. They are afraid, it will once again justify the “Kerala Story”.
Both the opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) and ruling CPM-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) are always in tight competition for minority vote bank. So, they always evade this sort of discussion. They are still not ready to accept that the girls trapped and taken to Afghanistan and Syria are the victims of Love Jihad.
It has been hardly a few days since the daughter of a prominent Congress leader in Karnataka was stabbed to death by her classmate Fias. Congress leader Niranjan Hiremath alleged that his daughter Neha Hiremeth was killed due to Love Jihad. He raised this allegation despite the Congress-led government’s argument that the incident has nothing to do with Love Jihad. ABVP has launched an agitation, stating that it was Love Jihad. ABVP had demanded that the culprit be given the most severe punishment for the crime he committed. The incident speaks out that the’matter’ is of pan-Bharat nature.
The matter becomes serious when people are given the understanding that missing cases are not investigated properly. If the investigation is not carried out properly, the missing ones will obviously not be recovered.
No doubt, no Hindu organisation has so far come forward with the allegation that all 5338 missing girls are trapped in Love Jihad. But, still, the question remains, ‘What happened to them’? Government cannot evade the responsibility of a fast, proper, impartial and most efficient investigation into the matter.
